It Can Only Get Better
by Horcrux7
Summary: She may be 7 years old, but Renesmee is very much an adult and Jacob is suddenly a lot more than her best friend. But how will Bella and Edward react when they return from their second honeymoon to find their baby girl in a compromising situation?
1. Change is inevitable

**Renesmee**

*This story ignores the fact that Alice can't see Jacob and Renesmee.

I went through the King's of England in my head as I waited for my parent's to put their luggage in the car. It sounded silly, especially to my father who kept glancing my direction, but it was the only way to keep a secret when your father could read your thoughts. And even though he only read the thoughts going through my head at the moment he was near me—thank goodness—it was a pain when the thoughts I didn't want him to hear kept going through my mind. It was crucial though, that he didn't know. If he read them, he would tell my mother in a second and then, well, then the yelling would begin. Only, they wouldn't be angry with me. They were my thoughts, yes, but they would inevitably blame the object of my thoughts.

I found it hard to blame them, when I wasn't angry. After all, I had only been alive for seven years, but physically I was the same age as my forever-frozen mother, Bella. To her though, and to my father Edward, I would always be their beautiful, unique baby girl…and I hadn't truly been a baby since they day I was born. It also didn't help that when I said always, I meant forever—literally. My parents were vampires, forever frozen at the ages of seventeen and eighteen, and I had stopped growing at a once terrifying rate about a week ago. Now I wouldn't grow or age at all and I would live and breathe for eternity…as far as we knew anyway.

I moved onto the Tsars of Russia as my parents hugged me goodbye.

"I love you, Ness, be good," my father warned. He always got nervous when I blocked him.

"I'm always good," I retorted. It was mostly true.

My mother pulled me into a hug that was still tighter than was necessary. "I love you, Renesmee."

"I love you, too, mom." It would have seemed strange to an outsider, me calling her mom because we looked like sisters, twins almost. It didn't help that, physically speaking, my father was younger than both of us. It was just normal in the Cullen household though.

They finally got in the car and sped down the drive. I didn't stop reciting in my head until I heard them pull onto the highway. My first urge was to go back to the cottage that was mine for as long as my parents were gone. I hadn't been alone very much in my life and it was a little unnerving. I wouldn't be alone for long though. I could already hear the familiar pattern of paws hitting the earth; _he_ would be here soon.

My heart beat even faster than it normally did and I smiled as I set off at a run toward the cottage. I wanted to beat him there. It was silly, but we'd been doing it most of my life and I couldn't help it. Sure, I was physically an adult and I had an intellect that would put the vast majority of middle-aged humans to shame, but sometimes, when my family wasn't watching, I liked to just be kid. I had eternity to be an adult…I had only truly been a carefree child for a few months. There was only one person who could truly understand that.

I leaned against the door to the cottage seconds before he emerged from the trees. As always, he was clad only in cut off shorts and nothing else. He had a supply of shirts inside, but when my parents weren't home he didn't bother. He grinned as he sauntered over to me. I was glad _he_ couldn't read my thoughts; I knew more than he thought I did about our relationship. Contrary to my very adult—okay, teenage—hormones, I wasn't ready for our relationship to change yet. It would change though, not today, but soon…_very_ soon. I couldn't keep things from Jacob very long.

"I beat you," I teased.

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, because I had to phase _and_ get decent."

"It's not my fault you run through the woods naked." I was just teasing him, really, but images of him phasing back into a human in front of me suddenly filled my head. At that moment I was even happier that my father was half way to the airport.

His grin widened and he walked even closer to me. "Next time I'll beat you _then_ phase."

I pursed my lips, ignoring the thoughts racing through my mind. "It's cute how you think that'll work."

He was standing in front of me now, his arms one either side of my head as he leaned against the house. I could feel the heat from his body, smell the scent of his olive skin that was only pleasant to me, and I could heart his heart beating normally. He had no idea. His kissed my forehead, like he did everyday, but today I felt it linger on my skin…that _didn't_ happen everyday.

His thick, black brows furrowed over his equally dark eyes. "Something wrong?"

I smiled and shook my head too quickly, even for a half-vampire. "Of course not. Are you hungry?"

His eyes narrowed perceptively, but he didn't push the issue. "When am I not hungry?"

"I'll fix you some lunch," I promised. I had wanted to be alone with him, but it was suddenly very different than what I had imagined it would be. "Let's go to the house."

I ducked under his arm but he suddenly caught me by the waist and picked me up from behind. "Nessie," he whispered directly into my ear. "Something is wrong."

I couldn't hide the chill that ran down my spine. "Not wrong, just different," I told him. It was the truth; I wasn't good at lying to him. I got that from my mom.

He set me down and took my hand, palm to palm like he'd done my whole life. It was how adults held hands with children so they wouldn't loose them in a crowd. I'd never thought of it that way before but it seemed inappropriate now.

"Don't tell me you miss them already."

Finally, the perfect lie—mostly because it wasn't a lie. "They are my parents and I do love them."

"Sure, sure." He nodded and grinned at me.

I laughed. This felt more like the relationship we had. "They've never left me before, so it is different."

His face softened. In this case, he understood my parents completely. "They didn't really want to leave you today either."

"I know," I whispered. If my mother could cry, there would have been tears in her eyes when she'd gotten in the car.

"They didn't want to miss anything before but you're not gonna change anymore," he explained even though he knew I knew it already.

In some ways though, I couldn't quite agree with him. I was still changing, just not physically. I wished there was someone I could talk to about this, but everyone I knew would overreact. Everyone except my Aunt Alice…she would see this coming anyway.

"I won't leave you," he said smugly.

"You don't have a choice." It slipped out before I'd thought it through. His hand constricted around mine and he stopped walking. I couldn't look at his face; I could see it in my mind and that was hard enough. "I'm sorry," I whispered. I was.

"Why do you say it like that?" he whispered.

I heard the pain in his voice and it hurt me too. Unlike my mother, I could cry. I didn't want to though. I remembered the day I'd told him that I knew about the imprinting. On some level I'd always known about the bond between us; I remembered the look in his eyes when he'd looked at me for the first time. It didn't bother me, it never would, but sometimes it was hard to get Jacob to understand that. The only time he'd ever yelled at me or been angry with me at all was the day he'd come over to find me reading the Quiluete legends.

He had fought with my mother too. They were best friends, yes, but sometimes I got the feeling that they fought over me. She had said I had a right to know. He had wanted to explain it to me himself, when the time was right. I'd left the room without them realizing for the first time in my life. My Aunt Alice had been in the kitchen, making Jacob a snack, and she'd promised me that they would cool down in a few minutes.

That was also the day I'd found out about their past together. It was just another wrinkle in the complex life we all lead here and it didn't matter to me. Again, it never would. He loved me, he always would, but to him it always came back to the same thing…he didn't have a choice and I knew that.

"Jake, we've talked about this. It doesn't matter to me. Besides, I have less of a choice than you think I do." This argument never worked, but it was true. I was attached to him; he'd been an integral part of my life literally from the moment of my birth. Still, he couldn't get past the fact that I didn't have some weird, genetic thing that gave me absolutely no choice. "I'm sorry I said it."

He didn't say anything and I finally looked up at his face. I hated seeing him like this, especially when I was the cause. He would give me anything I wanted, or so the legend said, but I wanted him to have peace of mind. Apparently it didn't quite work that way. I did what I always did when he was stubborn. I reached up and put my hand on his cheek. Over the years I had worked to not only convey my thoughts, but to also convey my emotions. I wanted him to feel what I was feeling.

"I know, Nessie," he breathed and covered my hand with his. "You don't care."

"When I say it, I mean it."

His stomach suddenly growled and reminded us where we were going in the first place. We both laughed and the tension was gone; it never lasted long between us anyway.

When we got to the house, I had to find a way to get Alice alone. Of course I should have known that she knew exactly what I wanted. She came down the stairs as soon as we walked in the door. "Hey, Nessie!" she greeted. "Jake!"

"Hey, Alice," we said in unison. It was practically a ritual. We greeted everyone in unison when we were together.

"Nessie, can I talk to you? Privately?" she asked with her customary, knowing smile.

I looked at Jacob once and smiled my apology. "I'll get you when the foods ready," I promised.

"Sure, sure." He bent down and kissed the top of my head. "See ya."

Jasper came down the stairs as Jacob relinquished my hand. He knew what that meant: setup. But as usual, Jacob was a good sport about it when he knew that it was something I wanted. So Jasper easily steered him outside and out of hearing distance.

"Everything will be fine," Alice promised me.

It didn't matter how long I had lived with her, it was still a little frustrating to have conversations with my aunt. "What will be fine?"

"Your relationship with Jacob," she explained. "It's going to change, but it'll be good. And don't worry about Bella and Edward; they decided a long time ago that they would be okay with it. They love Jacob and they know that the only reason he would feel that way about you is if you feel that way about him."

But then I always felt better when I did. "Thank you, Aunt Alice."

She smiled. "Aren't you going to make Jacob enchiladas?"

I stared at her, hoping she was teasing. No, she was serious…of course she was. "I don't think I've ever made enchiladas."

"I'll help. He wants ten."

My eyes widened, but Alice set to work. Even though Jacob was the only one who really ate human food, we still had an impressive stockpile. I'd started to like it more and more as the years went by; I liked eating meals with Jacob. Plus, if I ate human food I didn't have to hunt nearly as often as my family.

Alice did most of the work so I was able to run out and have Jacob back by the time they were done.

"Thanks, Alice!" he said when he sat down to the steaming plate of food.

"I helped!" I complained.

He suddenly pulled me into his lap and nuzzled my neck like he did when he was a wolf. Somehow it didn't feel the same when he was human. It was too intimate.

"Thank you," he whispered in my ear.

My heart raced and everyone could hear it. A blush crept up my cheeks and I hopped off his lap so he wouldn't see. Of course, it was easy to get away from him when there was delicious food on the table.

Alice winked at me. Maybe our relationship _was_ going to change today.

"Wanna try one?" Jacob asked between bites.

It did smell pretty good for human food. I tended to like things with a lot of spices and Alice hadn't been stingy with them. "Sure."

He cut off a piece of one and held the fork up to my mouth. I hesitated for a fraction of a second, but took the bite. It did taste good—for human food, but I hardly noticed because Jacob was eyeing me. There was a question in his eyes and I didn't want to answer it. "So I was thinking we could go to La Push today," I suggested before he could even open his mouth.

"Okay," he agreed slowly. "Wanna go to First Beach?"

"Yeah, it's been awhile."

"Sounds fun."

He finished his lunch quickly; he finished everything quickly. After all, he liked being alone with me too. It wasn't that we did anything we had to hide; we just liked being alone sometimes. Before we left I had to ask my aunt one more question. There was no way to avoid Jacob hearing me, so I asked her as cryptically as I could. "One more thing, Aunt Alice."

She smiled expectantly. "What?"

"When?"

As always, she knew exactly what I meant. Still, I could have screamed when she shook her head. "Some things in life are meant to be a surprise. To you, anyway."

I stared at her open-mouthed. It simply wasn't fair. I glared at my Aunt for the first time in my life…she smiled back. "Fine."

Jacob was by my side, looking down at me. His brow furrowed—that was happening a lot lately—and he took my hand, practically dragging me to the garage. He knew I would want to drive. A few weeks before I had stopped growing, my father had produced a birth certificate that said I was eighteen years old. My mother had been furious because she'd known exactly what he wanted it for: a driver's license. I had been thrilled and after some convincing, I'd gotten my way with my father's help. My driver's license had been my seventh birthday gift...along with a sky blue Rolls Royce Phantom.

I got in the driver's seat and sped out of the garage. Jacob hadn't said anything yet, but I was pretty sure he hated it when I drove. I'd learned from my father, who was a terror behind the wheel, and I took after him well. It should have taken us twenty minutes to get to La Push…we were there in ten. The whole ride had been silent.

"Could you not drive like that," Jacob whispered when I parked in his driveway. "We're immortal, not invincible."

We were as good as invincible, but I didn't say that. It wouldn't help anyway. "I'll go slower when I go home," I promised.

He pushed a curl behind my ear then kept his hand on my cheek. "Thank you," he whispered.

I suddenly had to get out of the car. I was clearly fighting a losing battle with myself. I took off at a run, knowing he would follow me but needing the time to think. This was the one place that we could truly be alone. Here there were no eyes watching, no ears listening to our whispered words, just the two of us alone…I was a genius.

"Nessie!" he yelled when I reached the beach…and kept going. "Nessie stop!"

I stopped immediately. He was behind me in a second and he put his over-sized hands on my shoulders, massaging them gently. My pulse was going crazy and I knew he could feel it. This was it; I couldn't fight it this time. And when he kissed the top of my head, I realized that I didn't want to anymore. "I'm afraid it'll change," I whispered.

He turned me around so I was facing him, but I couldn't look up into his face. His thumb and forefinger held my chin and _encouraged_ me to look up. "Change?" he asked softly.

I couldn't say it. The words simply wouldn't form in my mouth. So I did what I always did when I was at a loss for words. I put my hands flat on his chest and watched his eyes slide shut. I showed him the dreams I'd been having, the images that kept going through my mind, and I gave him the feelings that went with them…not that they left any room for doubt.

His lips—noticeably too kissable—curved into the grin that made me go weak in the knees and he opened his eyes. His warm hand slowly moved over my skin of my face until he cradled my head in that one hand. "It can only get better," he whispered.

I believed him. With every fiber of my being I knew he was right. I smiled, hoping he would get the hint. For once I didn't want to tell him what I wanted.

The grin that I loved never left his lips as he closed the space between us. I don't think I could ever find words to describe how I felt when he pressed his lips to mine. I'd been dreaming about it, thinking about it constantly, but nothing could compare to the real deal. His lips were soft and warm and gentle as they moved over mine. I pressed into his hard body as his free hand snaked around my waist and pulled me closer.

But just as I decided that I could stay like this forever, he broke the kiss. I frowned at him, comforted only by the fact that he was still crushing me into his chest.

He, one the other hand, kept grinning at me. "That was nice,"

Nice?! I was going more for spectacular! Of course, I didn't really have anything to compare it to. "Just nice?" I pouted. "Where does it rank?"

He rolled his eyes and quickly pressed a kiss to my forehead. "Number one," he breathed in his husky voice.

I couldn't help but smile after that.

"But we should talk about this, you know."

I wanted to protest when his grip on me slackened, but I knew he was right. We had to discuss the new dynamic of our relationship, set boundaries that hadn't been an issue before. He let me go completely, but took hold of my hand, intertwining his fingers in mine. I smiled as we started down the beach.

"What's that smile?" he asked.

I held up our entwined fingers. "This. You've never held my hand this way before."

He stopped walking, just long enough to bring my hand to his lips and kiss it softly. "I'm glad you like it."

We walked for a few minutes in complete silence, just listening to the waves.

"We all knew this was going to happen," he started. "So your parents have already told me their rules—several times."

I nodded but stayed silent.

He stopped walking and pulled me over to the huge driftwood logs that formed natural benches and pulled me into his lap. "Do you want to spend eternity with me?" he asked in his husky voice.

I looked deep into his eyes, confused that he was asking me when he already knew the answer. "Yes, of course!" I whispered. "You know I do."

He grinned. "Just didn't want to be presumptuous."

I laughed and kissed him slowly. "You know you don't have to ask."

His arms tighten around me. "So you'll marry then?"

I would drive to Vegas and marry him tonight if I could. "There aren't enough yes's in the world."

He crushed me into his chest, nuzzling and kissing my neck.

It made me laugh though. "Why are you asking all this now?"

He straightened up and loosened his hold. "Because that's one of the rules. I promised your parents that we would wait at least a year before we—"

"A year!" I exclaimed. With a few seconds of thought I knew why they had set the rule, but it still didn't make me happy. "They expect us to wait a year!"

He nodded. "You know why. I get you forever when they've only had you for seven years."

"But it's not like we're going to move away!" I pouted.

He put a finger on my lips to silence me. "I've never fought with them over this, Nessie, I understand."

I crossed my arms and leaned against his chest. "I do, too."

"The other rule kinda goes with the first," he said awkwardly.

The awkward tipped me off; I knew what he was trying to say. "I assume they made you promise to keep my virtue in tact until we get married."

He laughed. "That's exactly how Edward said it, actually."

"Yeah, it's just mean," I sighed.

His chest vibrated as he laughed harder. "Yeah, so even if you want it I can't give it to you."

I pursed my lips into an exaggerated pout. "I thought you couldn't help it. I thought you _have_ to give me _whatever_ I want."

"Mmmm, it's true," he breathed. Then he leaned back so he could look into my eyes. "It's hard for me to tell you no, so please don't ask me."

I kissed him quickly. "I promise I'll be good. Besides, I _am_ only seven."

He cringed and I could only imagine the thoughts that had been going through his head right before I'd said that. "Please don't remind me, especially when we're talking about getting married and all that goes with that."

I laughed. "Makes you think twice, doesn't it?"

"Mmm hmm," he hummed, but he was smiling. "It'll make me keep my hands to myself."

Somehow I didn't believe that…or at least I didn't want to.


	2. Overreaction

Three Weeks Later

Renesmee

I was driving Jacob crazy and I knew it, but I couldn't seem to get enough of him. I realized just how foolish I had been to fear this. He'd been right; it could only get better. My parents were going to be home in a few hours and we were taking advantage of our last few moments alone. And by take advantage, of course, I mean that we were making out. The past three weeks had been amazing and I was sad to let them go. It wasn't about kissing or holding hands in front of them, even though I knew that it probably wouldn't go over well, it was just that I felt completely at peace when I was simply encircled in his warm arms. That would go away when they got home.

At the moment though, we were on the couch in my parents' cottage getting a little cozier than we probably should have, especially considering the boundaries on our relationship. I was in his lap as usual, but now I was straddling him and his hands were on my lower back, pulling me into him. I barely noticed, though; I was too engrossed in the feel of his lush lips moving hungrily over mine. I held his face in my hands so I could feel every sensuous movement of his jaw.

And there were unspeakable thoughts racing through my mind.

His hands suddenly covered mine and pulled them away from his skin. "Nessie," he groaned. "Not helping!"

I felt my head tilt to the side; I probably looked like an airhead. "What?"

He held up my hands. "I can see what's going through your head," he whispered with a grin. "You didn't realize it?"

I shook my head slowly, feeling the blush creep up my cheeks. "That's never happened before."

He laughed and slid his hands to the bend behind my knees. "Neither has this."

"True," I breathed and closed the space between us…

So my lips were barely millimeters from his when it happened. The door to the cottage crashed opened and both our heads snapped over to look into the furious gold eyes of my parents.

"_Shit_," Jacob muttered and quickly pulled me off of him and stood me on the floor. He stood up next to me.

For a brief second I didn't understand. They weren't supposed to be home for another three hours! But they were definitely here and they had definitely seen us. I hadn't seen them so angry since the Volturi had come here to kill me. This situation hardly merited that kind of anger, but there it was in blazing liquid gold.

"We had an agreement, Jacob," my father whispered through clenched teeth.

"Which I haven't broken," Jacob retorted without missing a beat.

My mother's eyes widened hysterically. "What do you call that?" she yelled and motioned toward the couch.

I didn't know if it was conscious or subconscious, but Jacob was holding his arm out in front of me, like he was preparing to shield me from an attack. He probably wasn't too far off.

"Do you forget that I know exactly what was going through your head?"

"And my head!" I reminded him. I wouldn't let them put the blame on him.

"Thoughts are very different than actions, Edward. We haven't _done_ anything wrong."

My mother walked forward slowly. "I think you should leave now, Jake."

She used his nickname but there was nothing friendly about her tone or her words. My hand found his instantly; I didn't want him to go. "I want him to stay."

She continued to stare daggers into Jacob when she replied. "I don't think you do."

Tears formed in my eyes when Jacob turned to me, cupped my face in his hand and kissed me quickly. "Don't worry. I love you."

"I love you, too," I whispered back and sniffed.

He walked out slowly, probably so he wouldn't provoke my parents into attacking him.

Their eyes softened when he was gone, but I wasn't going to let them off. I crossed my eyes and brushed past them to the door. "I'm staying at the house tonight," I told them and then took off at a run before they could stop me.

Alice was waiting for me with the door opened.

"You said they would be okay with this!" It took everything in me not to yell. I knew her visions were dependent on the other person's mind.

"They were going to be okay with it until they walked in on you two like that! I can't help it when they change their minds right before they see you."

"What's going on?" My Aunt Rosalie demanded as she glided down the stairs and crossed her arms. "Why are you yelling?"

"Because my parents are overreacting when she said they would be okay with it!" I tried to whisper but I was yelling again in the end.

Rosalie rolled her eyes. Even though she had been like a second mother to me, I should have known that she would not take my side on this. "Well, you are dating a do—wolf."

I narrowed my eyes. "Actually, I am engaged to that wolf, Rose." It wasn't technically official, but close enough.

She pretended to cringe in shock, but she, like everyone else in this family, had known this would happen. "To each her own, I suppose," she sighed. "I assumed you'll be living here for awhile?"

I nodded and gave her a small smile. "Yes, as long as they're being unreasonable, I'm not talking to them."

"Good luck with that," Alice whispered.

Apparently my parents had decided to talk to me. Well, two could play at that game. I was deciding not to talk to them. I went up to my father's old room, locked the door and fell onto the bed. I didn't like to cry in front of my family, mainly because they couldn't, but I was alone and I couldn't stop the tears anymore. I mostly cried when I was angry, really angry…I was really angry. I had a right to kiss my boyfriend, didn't I? Granted, he hadn't been my boyfriend when they had left, so their shock was justified, but the fury in their eyes wasn't. And the fact remained that we weren't _doing_ anything wrong! That was the problem when your father could read your boyfriend's thoughts. I knew what was going through my head the moment before they'd walked through the door; I could only imagine that Jacob's thoughts had been just as bad.

After an hour of wallowing, I decided to read. Might as well be productive. I read through the night and entire next day. It was the first day in my whole life that I didn't see Jacob or any member of my family….aka, the longest day of my life. One day passed quickly for eternal vampires, but for me it _felt_ like eternity.

Another problem with a vampire family; they never sleep. That means sneaking out is impossible. So in the morning I rushed out to the garage, ignoring anyone who saw me, and sped out of the driveway before anyone could stop me. I had to get to La Push; I had to see Jacob.

There was no answer when I knocked on the door. I could have cried again. When I walked down to the beach and unceremoniously plopped onto one of the driftwood benches I wasn't alone very long.

"He's not here," an easy-going voice said behind me.

I turned, watching as he sat next to me on the log. Seth had been in my memories almost as long as Jacob had and he was always a welcomed relief from my family. "I know," I whispered. "I just can't go home though."

He grinned. "It wasn't pretty in Jake's mind; I can only imagine how it was in person."

"They took an early flight and didn't tell us! I had no idea they were going to walk in on us that way," I defended. "So where is he? I didn't see him yesterday."

"He saw you," he told me seriously. "He has to see you. He's somewhere in the state, brooding."

I smiled at that; it was so like him. "Of course he is."

"Do you want me to get him?" he offered. Seth could get Jacob on his way here in seconds.

"No, let him brood for a little longer."

He was quiet for a few moments. "Do you wanna be alone?"

I shook my head slowly. "Being alone is a very foreign concept to me. Yesterday was enough alone time for awhile."

"I could talk to Edward, if you want," he offered.

It was almost funny to me, but Seth had always been better friends with my father than Jacob. Of course, it could have something to do with the fact that Seth had never tried to steal my mother from him and he hadn't imprinted on his only child. "I don't think even you could help with this. The only time I have ever seen them so angry was when the Volutri came here to kill me. Somehow I don't think Jake and I kissing is even remotely similar to that situation."

He nodded. "I know, I saw. But in a way, it is a similar situation."

I slowly looked over at him, my eyes as wide as they could possibly get. "What?!"

He put his hands up defensively. "Nessie, just think about it! The last time they were that angry was when they thought they were going to lose you. Maybe they feel like they're losing you now."

I frowned at him. Seth looked like he was the same age as I looked, but when he was perceptive like this I remembered he had a good fifteen years on me. I crossed my arms. "The only reason they would lose me now is if they push me away! And they're doing a good job of it."

"I think they call that a catch-22."

"Something like that."

We both looked back out to the waves. He was completely right, of course. But at the same, I was too. I didn't want to leave them and the only reason I would ever even consider leaving them would be if they forced me away. Coming between Jacob and I was really the only way they could do that…and right now they were.

We had been sitting silently for at least ten minutes before Seth broke the silence. "Are you sure you don't want me to get Jake?"

"No need."

My heart sped up at the sound of his sensuous, husky voice. It felt like years since I had heard it. I didn't remember standing, but I was suddenly in his arms, pulling his face to mine and kissing him roughly. "I missed you so much," I whispered when we parted. "I was going crazy without you."

"Me, too," he breathed, resting his chin on my head and pulling me even closer. "Promise me that you won't ever lock yourself in that room again."

"I promise," I whispered sincerely. I never wanted to go a day without him again. I pressed a kiss to the warm skin of his chest. "Never again."

He swept me up into his arms and walked over to the driftwood benches so I was sitting in his lap when he sat down. "Have you talked to Bella and Edward yet?"

I shook my head. "No, and I don't intend to."

"Nessie," he admonished. "Do you really want to be mad at them forever?"

"Maybe," I mumbled…getting a little angry with him.

"This won't ever be resolved unless you talk to them."

I pushed away from him, frowning. "Are you taking their side?"

"No, I just want you to be happy and I really don't think that staying mad at them will make you happy." He pulled me back to his chest and kissed my head. "I'm _always_ on your side. Your side _is_ my side."

I smiled and relaxed against him. Even though I knew I could be happy with Jacob forever, I wanted that forever to include my family too.

"Are thinking about how right I am?" he asked when I had been quiet for awhile.

"That would require you to be right," I teased.

He chuckled and his chest vibrated against my cheek. "Will you go talk to them?"

I pursed my lips. "Will you come with me?"

He gently prompted me to stand up then took my hand as we started down the beach together. "Let's get something straight. As long as you need me, as long as you want me, I will be with you."


	3. Discussion

**Renesmee**

I sat in the driver's seat for a few minutes after I turned off the car. I was having trouble mustering the courage to go face my parents. Jacob climbed out of the car without a word and came around to open my door, but I still couldn't get out. He gently scooped me up into his arms like he had done my entire life and cradled me against his chest. "It'll be fine," he whispered into my hair. "They were just in shock. And let's face it, what Edward heard going through my head—well, he probably should've hit me."

I could hear the smile in his voice and it gave me a little courage. If he was smiling then surely I had nothing to worry about. But then again, some times Jacob was a little too confident for his own good…it was one of the reasons I loved him though. "I think I'm ready."

He set me down on my feet. I almost protested but I knew that it probably wouldn't do anything to help our case if he walked in holding me in his arms. I took a step forward, but he grabbed my hand and pulled me back to him. "What?"

He didn't answer. Instead he kissed me quickly, but passionately then let me go, still holding my hand.

My parents were there, thanks to Alice I assumed, sitting on the couch like nothing was wrong. When they looked at Jacob and me though, their eyes narrowed in unison. I knew this was the right thing to do, I didn't like being angry with my parents, but they certainly weren't making it easy. We sat across from them, hand in hand to present a united front, so to speak.

There was a tense silence for several minutes; clearly none of us knew how to start.

"Renesmee," my father finally started. "Long before this was even an issue, we made an agreement with Jacob. He agreed that once your feelings changed he would wait a year to marry you, giving us more time with you, and that your virtue would remain in tact until that time. Those were the precise terms of our agreement."

I nodded. "Then I don't see what the problem is."

"The problem," my mother said, not quite as calm as my father, "is that we came home to find said virtue in danger!"

I looked at Jacob as he rolled his eyes. I couldn't help but agree. "My virtue was not in danger, it never has been and it is quite in tact, I assure you! And we're not married, so I say: I don't see what the problem is."

My father looked at Jacob carefully. If we had done something wrong it probably would have been going through his head by now or he would have been taking measures to block my father. Jacob looked him in eye, clearly letting him hear everything.

"That's not exactly what I meant," he mumbled.

"Well, then you should've been more specific," Jacob mumbled back…okay, growled.

Then all hell broke loose—in an emotional sense. The calm façade my parents had been holding broke and their lips curled up into subtle snarls. I could feel Jacob vibrating with anger and he leaned forward ever so slightly. It had been a very long time since he had been that angry. I leaned over, trying to come between him and my parents.

"This is ridiculous!" I yelled. "Would you have me believe that you two never kissed before you got married?"

My mother sat up. "That is not the point—"

"But it's true! Did you think we were going to go on as before for a whole year until we got married?" They didn't respond. "That's completely unreasonable and hypocritical! Jacob is my boyfriend—"

"Fiancé," Jacob interjected.

I ignored their wide eyes. "I love him and I have a right to kiss him when I want to and the same goes for him."

"Renesmee, you're seven-years-old," my mother whispered.

I knew this was the crux of their problem. To them, I was still a child. "You know that, and trust me, Jake does too, but I don't," I admitted. "Seven years means something completely different to me. I'm an adult. I_ feel_ like an adult and I _think_ like an adult."

My mother's face contorted and I knew that if she were still human she would have been crying. "But we've only had you for seven years."

"Bella, I'm not taking her away from you!" Jacob defended. "I convinced her to come back and talk to you!"

"Mom, the only reason you would loose me is if you come between us! You were willing to sacrifice everything, your friends and your family so you could be with Dad. I am your daughter, so do you think for one second that I wouldn't do the same to be with Jacob? If I have to choose there's no doubt in my mind that I would choose him. Please don't make me do that."

I swear I could see my mother's silent heart breaking in her eyes. She knew I would do it. It might sound cruel, but I wanted her to face that reality because it was the only way to get through to her.

"We don't want to come between you," my father whispered. "We are your parents; we are supposed to protect you."

I felt Jacob tense again at my father's unspoken words. "So you're saying I'm going to hurt her?" he growled. "She's the reason I live!"

"We all know you don't have the best control of your emotions,"

I stared at my mother, open-mouthed. That was the last straw. "We're done here," I whispered. I stood up slowly, pulling Jacob with me. My parents didn't try to stop us; I think they knew that that last comment had been uncalled for. It made the growing chasm between that much deeper.

"You drive," I told him as we walked to the garage.

"I have a better idea," he said cryptically. He disappeared into the trees for a few moments before he emerged as an impressive, russet wolf. He knelt down to the ground and I eagerly climbed onto his back and held on tight as he set off at a run. I loved this. His slightly shaggy fur enveloped me and I inhaled his virile, woodsy scent. I could feel every movement of his muscles as they contracted under me; I felt like I was part of him when we were like this.

I didn't notice I was crying until I felt the damp fur on my cheeks. Considering what my parents had been through to have me and keep me alive and safe, it probably seemed callous that I would so easily chose Jacob over them. But the truth was…it wouldn't be easy by any stretch of the imagination. There was no doubt in my mind that if I they truly forced me to choose, I would choose Jacob. To a full human, that was the natural course of life; they grew up, got married and moved out and on. It just wasn't as simple for me. So even though I knew without a second thought that I would choose Jacob, I had absolutely no idea how I would ever actually leave my parents behind.

We arrived in La Push and Jacob knelt down so I could climb off but I couldn't seem to let go of him. After a few moments he laid down completely. I could tell that he knew I was crying because he kept whimpering and trying to look back at me. He wanted to hold me, to comfort me, and I knew it, but sometimes I liked it when he was a wolf. Besides, I didn't want to be parted from him for one second.

I wasn't sure how long we'd been lying there, but I suddenly needed to be in his arms. I quickly slid to the ground and he jumped up the instant I stepped away from him. He probably wasn't gone more than ten seconds, but I had already started to pace by the time his arms went around me and crushed me into his chest.

"You said it would be fine," I cried into his chest. "I don't like being mad at them."

"I know, I'm sorry, it's my fault," he whispered into my hair.

I pushed away from him so he could see his face. "No! Don't ever think that!"

"Nessie, it's true! You don't want this," he whispered.

"You're right, I don't want this. I want you and I want them to be okay with it. I love you. You're a part of me, Jake, life without you is not an option."

He looked at me seriously. Even though I didn't have my father's gift, I knew what he was going to say next. "And life without them? Is that an option?"

"If it comes to that, yeah, it is. I meant what I said; I would give up everything to be with you."

He held my face in his hand and kissed my forehead. "Listen, Nessie, you are the center of my life, but I've come to terms with the fact that I can't make you completely happy by myself."

"But I couldn't be happy at all without you."

"I hate pointing this out, but they've never actually said that you can't be with me. They're just kind of mad about the change."

He had a point. They had never said anything about trying to separate us; they'd just accused Jacob of violating their agreement. I was actually the one who had violated the agreement though by crawling onto his lap every time we were alone. "So you're saying we should just wait it out?"

He nodded and gave me a small smile. "Yeah, I mean, I've known them longer than you; they'll come around."

As usual, I believed him. Maybe I just really wanted to believe it, but he really looked convinced. "Then I'll wait, but I'm staying in the house." I pursed my lips. "Besides, I don't like to think about what they do when I'm asleep."

Jacob cringed. "Thanks for that."

I laughed. "Welcome to my life."

His hands fell to my waist and his lips curled into the grin I couldn't resist. "Can I still come over?"

"I don't know," I said, biting my lip. "Maybe I should come here, you know, until they get over it. Maybe it'll speed things along if I'm here all the time."

I was surprised when the grin stayed on his lips. "And we'll actually be alone."

I laughed. "And that's bound to drive them crazy."

He kissed me slowly. "Exactly,"


	4. Overboard, way overboard

**Renesmee**

I hadn't expected my parents to be at the house when Jacob brought me back around two in the morning, but there they were, sitting on the couch, watching a movie and pretending that they didn't know what was going through our minds. We had walked in with smiles after our day together, but the smiles had quickly melted into frowns. Still, we didn't feel the need to change our normal parting ritual.

Jacob kissed me deeply, like he always did, while he crushed me into his chest. "I love you," he whispered as he slowly let me go.

A shiver ran down my spine. It didn't matter how many times he had said those words to me, it got to me every time. "I love you," I whispered back breathlessly.

Jacob kissed me once more, this time with a grin, and then quickly slipped out the door.

I was halfway up the stairs when they spoke to me…which was what I had been trying to avoid.

"Renesmee," my father said first so I would stop. "We would like you to be home by midnight...for your safety."

I clenched my teeth but continued up the stairs instead of arguing. I had to be the only vampire with a curfew. For my safety? Right! I could literally tear someone in half if they tried to do anything to me. And when I was out, I was normally with Jake; he would do worse to anyone who tried to hurt me…human or vampire. Their jealousy was poorly masked behind faux parental concern.

I didn't unclench my teeth until I brushed them while getting ready for bed. I only slept about four hours a night—if I was really tired. Most of the time two to three hours was enough and I could easily go at least two days without any sleep at all. If they wanted to give me a curfew I wouldn't fight it; they were only taking away from their own time with me. My plan had been to sleep here and spend at couple hours in the morning with my family; if they were going to be difficult about it though I would just leave as soon as I got up in the morning. Jacob would chastise me, no doubt, but he would be easy to convince, especially after hearing about the curfew. I wasn't sure if he would be so easy to get out of bed though…

My sleep wasn't restful like it usually was; I guess I had a lot on my mind. Up until the day my parents had gotten home, my life had been pretty stress free. We barely left the house because my family never aged and they should have moved out of the house at their supposed ages anyway. I wasn't even supposed to exist, or at least I should have been about six years old…normal six, not half-vampire six. So I never travelled, I never went to school, I just stayed home with people who loved me and admittedly spoiled me. And since Jake had gotten a business degree online rather than going to college without me, I had spent time with him everyday. As much as I hated to admit it, I didn't really know how to handle all of this.

My alarm read a quarter to five when I opened my eyes in the morning and I decided those three hours were enough. A smile came to my lips though when I thought about the fact the in a year I wouldn't be waking up alone like this. I wouldn't have to wait to see Jacob in the mornings; I would wake up in his arms. That thought fueled me through my morning routine.

I had every intention of walking straight to my car and driving to La Push, but my mother walked through the door just as I jumped off of the bottom step.

"Good morning, Renesmee," she greeted with a smile.

"Morning," I mumbled.

"I was just about to go hunting," she continued. "Would you like to go with me?"

It was a trick, and I knew it, but it was a good one; I hadn't been hunting in awhile. Even though I ate human food with Jacob everyday, it just wasn't quite as satisfying as what the vampire in me really craved. I crossed my arms and debated. Even though my mother had risked her life to have me, it was my father who tended to go overboard with trying to protect me. I was sure that the curfew had been his idea.

I was about to agree when a sudden wave of suspicion hit me. My father wasn't normally far from my mother for long. Maybe it was more of a trap than I suspected. I raised one eyebrow slowly. "Is dad coming?"

A smile slowly split her lips. "No, just us."

Mother-daughter time, I guess I could deal with that. "Alright, where are we going?"

"Not far, just on our property."

Naturally…it wasn't hard to assume that I wouldn't want to go any further. "Okay, fine, let's go."

I was about to set off at a run, which was my normal mode of transportation when I was going to hunt, when my mom touched my arm. "What?"

"Let's walk."

I sighed heavily. Of course she wanted to walk. My mom wasn't usually the lets-talk-about-this type so to say this was awkward would be a grave understatement. It was made even more awkward by the fact that she didn't know how to start the conversation. We ended up walking in silence for at least ten minutes.

"Do you understand why Edward and I are concerned?" she finally asked…awkwardly. She told me once that she had been an extreme klutz as a human but it had all changed when she had become a vampire. Some times though, in situations like this, the awkwardness came back.

"Not really, no," I said tersely. "Jake is a perfect gentleman."

"Oh, I know how much of a gentlemen Jake can be."

Well that was sarcastic. I rolled my eyes.

"I've never told you this," she continued, "but Jacob kissed my several times when I didn't want him to."

I stopped walking. "Mom, have you ever stopped to think that he's different with me?"

"Is he?" she asked, almost sadly.

"Yes! I would show you how it was between us when you were gone, but some memories I like to keep private. Trust me though, he's different."

"I hope you're right," she mumbled.

I rolled my eyes. Far be it from me to think that this would be productive. I sighed. "Let's just hunt," I mumbled back and took off running, not really caring if she followed me.

We hunted for an hour; it didn't take long when you were so superior to your prey. I had long perfected my technique so my clothes were as pristine as they had been when I'd put them on. I was still upset with my mother, but I acquiesced to walk back with her even though I really wanted to run all the way to La Push from there.

"We're not trying to punish you," she said after we were half way to the house.

"No, you're trying to punish Jacob for something he hasn't done," I retorted. "In the process you _are_ punishing me."

"We just think that some time apart would be good for you," she defended, but it was half-hearted.

I stopped walking and looked at her. We were the same height so I could look her directly in the eyes. "Mom, when I said I would choose Jake I meant it, but I don't want to have to make that choice," I emphasized. "But everything you and dad do pushes me closer to that."

She didn't say anything. Even though she always said 'we', I knew that most of this came from my father. He was overprotective by nature but right now he was fighting the wrong battle…and he was losing.

I rolled my eyes and then took off running after that. She might have yelled my name, but I didn't turn around to see. In fact, I didn't stop running until I was standing outside of Jacob's house. I liked running, it usually made me feel better, but today I knew that only one thing could make feel better: Jacob's warm arms around me.

I knocked on the door three times…hard. No response. "Jake," I huffed and went around to his bedroom window. Unfortunately, Jacob tended to sleep longer than I did and he also tended to go too long without sleeping at all which just exacerbated his already deep sleep. I could see him on his bed, shirtless as always, sleeping peacefully. I had my finger posed to tap on the window to try to rouse him, but I decided to let him sleep.

It started to spit rain as I made my way to the beach. I know it rained a lot in Washington, but I felt like the atmosphere was feeling what I was feeling at that moment. I sat down directly on the damp stones of the beach and pulled my knees to my chest.

"You're here again?" It was Seth.

I turned quickly to see him walking toward me like he had the morning before. "So are you," I accused with a smile. "Why are you here again at the same time?"

He shrugged. "I just finished my watch," he explained. "I'm on my way home."

"Oh,"

He sat on the beach next to me and looked out at the waves. He was shirtless like the rest of the wolves in the tribe tended to go and his hair was buzzed short. I never told Jake, or anyone, but I had always thought Seth was cute. Jacob never looked at other women, he just wasn't interested because of the imprinting, but it wasn't quite the same for me. No one ever made me look twice or anything, but I could still notice if a boy was good-looking. Seth was. That's why I never understood why he didn't date.

"You do look like you're in a better mood today," he said after awhile.

I smiled over at him. "A little, yeah. I'm just waiting for Jake wake up."

He scoffed. "Don't hold your breath. This is the first time he's actually slept in about three days."

Somehow I knew that was my fault. I showed Seth a guilty smile. "I don't mind waiting, just as long as it's here."

He nodded, his whole body moving with the over needed effort. "I take it that relations are still tense on the home front?"

I laughed. When he talked like that I couldn't help it. "You could say that, so I'm sleeping there and nothing else."

"I guess I can't blame you."

I looked at him slowly, my eyes wide in surprise. Seth was normally the first to defend my parents. "Really?"

"I heard what they said to Jake," he explained. "They were out of line."

"Yes, they were," I agreed wholeheartedly. "I was going to spend time with them in the mornings but now I don't even want to be there at all."

"I used to secretly envy Jake," he whispered after a few moments of silence. "Not in a resentful way, I just wanted to be more like him I guess. I mean, not only was he the Alpha, but he imprinted on someone who's not gonna grow old or die."

"And now?"

He shrugged. "Now I'm glad I haven't imprinted on anyone…I don't think I want to."

"Don't say that, Seth," I said quickly. It broke my heart to hear him say that. "Things might be tense with my parents now, but Jake and I have never been better. I was afraid of how it would be once our relationship changed, but he told me that it could only get better and he was right."

He looked at me pensively for a few moments. "Even with all the issues with your parents you still think it's better?"

"Yeah," I said honestly with a smile to prove it. "You're a great friend, Seth, so despite what you say, I hope it will happen for you someday."

After turning back to the waves a small smile cracked his lips. "Maybe it will," he mumbled.

I sincerely hoped it would too. I also hoped that he would have an easier time with his girl's parents than Jacob and I were having with mine.

We sat in silence for a long time until Seth looked over at me suddenly. "How are you going to know when Jake wakes up if you're here?"

I smiled guiltily. "Good question."

"I'm sure Billy's up by now so you can wait in the house…or jump on him," he suggested with a serious face.

I laughed again. "Are you trying to get rid of me, Seth?"

He nodded just as seriously. "Yes, you're making me think about things I don't want to think about."

"Well, then I apologize," I said in clearly feigned sincerity.

He finally laughed with me.

"You're right though, I should go. It was nice talking to you…again," I said, genuinely sincere.

"It was nice talking to you too, Nessie," he said softly and turned back to the waves. Apparently he really was thinking about what I had said.

Seth had been right about Billy; when I knocked on the door a couple minutes later he answered. "Good morning, Nessie, come on in," he said with a warm smile and wheeled away from the door. "Jake's still asleep."

"I figured," I whispered. "I can wait."

"Well, I'm about to leave. Charlie and I are fishing."

I nodded even though I'd forgotten it was Saturday. "Tell him I said 'hi'."

After Billy left I went back to Jacob's room. It was tiny and it seemed even smaller because Jacob was so big, but he never complained about it. I knew he had the funds to move out on his own, build his own house on the reservation, but he didn't want to. Most people in our lives were immortal but Jacob's dad was one of few who weren't. That's why he stayed in his tiny room. No one on the reservation questioned why he hadn't change a bit in seven years anyway because almost all of the boys in the tribe were werewolves now…thanks to my family. And he also knew that someday very soon we would all be moving because all of us had overstayed our welcome in Forks by several years. Most of my family couldn't even go out in public any more and they were getting cranky to say the least.

Since Jacob wasn't actually taking up the whole bed for once, I crawled in next to him, laying my head on his shoulder and arm on his chest. I couldn't wait until I would sleep like this with him every night.

I didn't actually get to sleep though because it wasn't long before his breathing changed and his arm constricted around me. I looked up to see his eyes open and his lips smiling. "Good morning," he whispered. "I could get used to this."

I smiled and pressed a kiss to his chest. "Me, too."

"You're not normally here this early. Is everything okay?" he asked seriously.

I sigh and scooted closer to him. "My father gave me a curfew."

He sat up quickly, bringing me with him. "A curfew? What time?" he demanded angrily.

"Midnight," I whispered.

"Midnight?" he repeated…painfully.

I looked into his face then and it broke my heart. Tears were forming in his dark eyes but he was trying to fight them. I suppose it didn't hit me until that moment that Jacob wasn't just mad because they were trying to come between us; he was hurt because three weeks ago my parents had been his friends. Now they were practically treating him like a criminal and punishing him for something he hadn't done.

I slid my hand up to his cheek and made him look at me. "I'm sorry," I whispered, tears forming in my own eyes. "This is my fault. I should have never kissed you the way I did."

He shook his head slowly then kissed me. "You should be able to kiss me whenever you want and vice versa. When Edward told me his terms he never said I couldn't kiss you. That's what people do when they're in love! Edward kissed Bella when he could have killed her!"

He had a good point there, but I knew it would only serve to make my parents angrier. "I know, but they forget all of that. So I'm going to be home by midnight, but I'm coming here first thing in the morning everyday. I can't stand being around them when they act like they're not trying to keep me from spending time with you."

"Tomorrow I will be awake when you get here," he promised.

"Even before dawn?"

He nodded. "I don't want to sleep through one minute with you."

For the two weeks that followed, that's exactly how my life went. I was home by midnight every night and I was back in La Push by five every morning. When I got back to the house my parents were always there to ask me to do something with them and I always declined. Everyday my father's eyes grew more furious and my mother's eyes grew more morose, but I couldn't find any sympathy for them. They had brought this on themselves. Before their trip Jacob had come here everyday to spend time with me and my parents and it could have easily remained that way…if they hadn't accused Jacob of breaking their agreement.

The only time I broke this pattern was when I played a game of scrabble with Alice and Jasper. After all, they supported me and I enjoyed their company. They never said anything, but I knew they missed Jacob too.

That night I didn't go to bed until two and I knew Jacob would enjoy a few extra hours of sleep in the morning. Especially since I knew he had the late watch around the reservation. So I fully intended to sleep until six but it was three-thirty and I couldn't get back to sleep. I pulled the covers aside and got to the floor in one fluid motion before I opened the bedroom door. That's when I heard the voices…voices discussing a very important issue without me.

"How about Normandy?" I heard Rosalie suggest. "It's very overcast."

"Yeah, and one country north of the Volutri," my mother mumbled. This was seconded by several _mmm hmmm_s.

"Besides," Emmet threw in and I could hear the smile in his voice. "I like speaking English."

I could almost see Rosalie rolling her eyes.

"I think Scotland or Ireland are our best choices," Carlisle said with finality.

No one disagreed; apparently they had already discussed these options. I was furious—beyond furious! How could they be so underhanded? Maybe I expected it a little from my parents and Rosalie, given the current situation, but not from everyone else. I had thought they were my allies!

"What about Nessie?" Jasper asked.

Carlisle answered; "Naturally, I—"

"No," my father said flatly.

My heart fell to my stomach. I knew exactly what they were talking about.

There was a pause downstairs. I hoped they were all glaring at my father.

"Edward, I am surprised at you," Carlisle whispered.

"We've decided. She goes alone."

Tears flooded my eyes and the next thing I knew I was jumping out my window and running toward La Push. And as far as I was concerned, I didn't care if I ever came back.


	5. Ally

**Renesmee**

*Just a small reminder: This story ignores the fact that Alice cannot see Jacob or Renesmee in canon.

I realized too late that Jacob would still be on his watch but I ran to his house anyway. The moment I stopped running I fell against the siding and dejectedly slid to the damp ground. I tightly held my knees to my chest, trying to hold myself together when it felt like my whole world was falling apart. In all honesty though, I still didn't know how to feel. I was angry and hurt, or at least I should have been, but the most overwhelming feeling that consumed me while I sat there in the drizzling rain was shock. The fact that my parents would actually do this to me hadn't sunk in.

I don't know how long I sat there crying before I heard someone moving near me. My head shot up and at last I saw Jacob walking toward me. I didn't think…I just ran to him.

"Nessie?" he whispered with concern as he pulled me into his chest. "Nessie, what is it?"

I tried to tell him, but I couldn't find the words. Tears were pouring down my face, it was obvious even in the rain, and my throat was too tight to speak anyway. I spread my palms flat on his chest so he could hear what I had overheard.

"What?" he exclaimed, his beautiful face contorted in pain. "Did he mean what I think he meant?"

I took a shaky breath and nodded. "I think so. He's gonna make me go without you."

"But I have to be with you!" he said desperately. "I _have_ to!"

"I know," I cried. "I'm not going. I don't care what they say or do, I'm staying with you."

He nodded quickly and inhaled like he was trying to calm himself down. He held my cheek in his hand and caressed it with his thumb. "I love you," he whispered earnestly. "Anywhere you want to go, I will take you."

"Right now I just want to go inside," I said pitifully.

He nodded and swept me up into his arms in one fluid motion. I rested my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes, trying to relax a little in the comfort of his warm arms. Once inside, he sat on the couch and I curled up on his lap. I didn't really have anything more to say anyway. I was staying with him; that was that. We didn't need to talk about it.

Light was beginning to peak through the windows when the front door flew open. "Jake!" a voice yelled.

I sat up.

She stopped short. "Renesmee?" she whispered. It was my mother. "You're here already?"

Anger surged through me and I jumped off of Jacob's laps and crossed my arms. "Yes, and I'm not leaving."

Jacob's big hands wrapped around my arms gently and he pulled me back to him until I was leaning against his chest, but he didn't let go of me. "Bella, why are you here?"

She matched my posture. Only, hers was notably defensive. "I came here to warn you."

Jacob's hands constricted around my arms. "Warn me?" he asked tensely. I had never heard him talk to my mother this way. "About the fact that you're planning to leave without me?"

Her gold eyes widened and immediately looked at me. "You heard?"

"Why do you think I'm here—crying?"

She looked confused. "But Alice—"

"Alice doesn't see everything," Jacob reminded her. "And we're even harder for her to see."

She shook her head quickly. "No, no, she saw…"

I swear my heart stopped beating. I leaned even closer to him and covered his hands with mine. "Mom?" I choked.

She just kept looking at us. I was terrified when I saw pity in her eyes.

"Bells? Come on!" Jacob said desperately. "What did she see?"

"She—she saw Renesmee getting on the plane—"

"What!" I yelled, almost involuntarily as Jacob's arms wrapped around me completely. "No! I'm not going with you! I'm not leaving Jacob!"

"I know, Renesmee" she whispered with affected calm. "That's why I'm here."

I felt the muscles in his stomach and arms relax, but I wasn't so easily convinced. "You're going against dad?" I said harshly. The accusation in my voice was clear.

She put her hands up in mock surrender. "I know I don't normally go against Edward, but you are living proof that when I do disagree with him, I fight for what I want…and I get it."

The room was completely silent before I finally broke. I ran to my mother, tears pouring down my face, and threw myself into her cold arms. "Why is he doing this, mom?" I cried.

"I don't know, honey," she whispered soothingly. "He's stubborn and when he thinks he knows what's best it's hard to convince him otherwise."

Jacob, not two steps behind me, scoffed at her words. "He thinks separating us is _best_?"

My mother let me go and looked at Jacob sympathetically. "I know, Jake—"

"He has no right!" he yelled and looked at my mother desperately. "The things he did when you were still mortal! He could have killed you!"

"I know," she said with forced calm. Oddly though, she smiled over at me. "But I don't think you should be too upset about that."

"Sure, sure," he conceded then smiled at me too. He put his arm around my shoulders and kissed the top of my head. "I do have contradictory feelings about that."

"But he does tend to forget that sometimes. And when he saw you two on the couch—" she shook her head. "He's convinced that if we hadn't walked in—"

"That's ridiculous!" I exclaimed. "I can't believe my own father would insult me that way!"

"It's not that, it's just—you're so young and innocent—"

"So he's insulting me," Jacob cut in, crossing his arms. "Come to think of it, so did you."

My mother looked down. "I'm sorry I said that, Jake, really," she said and she really did sound sincere. "I was mad then, but I never actually wanted to separate you for good."

I believed her, without a doubt. I knew my mother had fought hard to have me; in a human sense, she had died to have me. There was no way she would risk losing me like this. Back when were ready to fight the Vulturi, she was going to trust me to Jacob for eternity, essentially. It didn't make sense that she wouldn't trust him now when she could easily check up on us whenever she wanted.

"But try to understand where he's coming from," she continued. "He never thought he would have children, so Renesmee is such a gift to us. He just wants her to be his little girl as long as possible." She looked at me softly. It was her motherly gaze. "He doesn't want to let you go so soon."

Maybe in some creepy way it was sweet and I should have been happy that my father cared so much, but he was going way too far with it. "By not letting go, he's just pushing me further away."

Oddly enough, she smiled at me. "I know. That's why I'm here."

I looked up at Jacob's face just as his eyes narrowed at my mother, but not in anger. He was curious. "Do you have a plan?"

"Yeah, I think I do." Her smile morphed into a mischievous grin. "Jake, how long could you go without seeing her?"

**A/N:** **Cliffhanger!! Mwhahaha!! (that's evil laughter…by the way…)**


	6. The Plan

Renesmee

I woke up in haze of confusion. There was a soft light coming from the corner of my room and I heard quick footsteps moving around my bed and what sounded like boxes sliding across the floor. I was almost afraid to open my eyes. I couldn't have been asleep for more than an hour, but when I did open my eyes the only thing left in my room was the bed I was sleeping on.

I sat up and looked around at the empty shelves. "What's going on?"

Rosalie popped out of the closet with a box in her arms. "Good, you're up," she said quickly. "Put that outfit on."

There was a complete outfit laid out on the end of the bed. It was just a pair of jeans and a nondescript, pink fitted t-shirt. "What's going on?"

She wouldn't look at me. "Nessie, just hurry," she said and walked out of my room.

I did as she asked; I dressed quickly and ran down the stairs. The lights downstairs were bright and everyone was picking up boxes and taking them out the front door about three at a time. It was creepy to see the house stripped down to the skeleton.

Before I could say anything, my father walked through the door. "Ah, Nessie, come on, we're leaving."

"Leaving…?" I repeated in confusion. "Where are we going?"

He walked up the first few steps and took hold of my wrist and tugged me gently. "Come on, Bella's in the car."

"Is something wrong?" I asked groggily as I followed him outside.

He didn't say anything. He opened the back door on the driver's side and I climbed in the seat. The only thing I could think about was going back to sleep.

"Bella, maybe you should sit back here with her," my father whispered.

I heard the doors opening and closing and the next thing I felt was my mother's cool arms around my shoulders.

"Don't worry," she whispered. "Everything's fine."

My eyes closed as my head fell against her shoulder.

The next thing I knew I was being jostled awake again. I was in my father's arms, but he sat me back on the ground and shoved something into my hand. I blinked down at my passport and a plane ticket. Then I was awake—and I was in line at the security check at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. I looked back at my father furiously before I handed over the documents. I knew this was not the time or place to blow up at him, but keeping my mouth shut and my feet moving forward was probably the most difficult thing I have ever done.

My breathing was harsh as we walked through the concourse to our gate. We were flying British Airways to Glasgow, Scotland with one connection in London and as soon as we walked to the gate, the last boarding call for First Class came over the speakers. My father walked behind me the whole way until I sat in the window seat in the very back of the First Class cabin.

We had barely been in our seat for fifteen minutes when the door closed and the plane made its way to the queue for the runway. The seat next to me remained empty; it was a cruel reminder that _my_ other half was painfully absent.

* * * *

Jacob

_A week earlier_

"_Jake, how long could you go without seeing her?"_

"_Why?" I asked slowly. Old habits die hard and one of my old habits was trusting Bella too easily. I didn't know how long I could go without seeing Nessie and I didn't know what would happen if I didn't see her; frankly, I didn't want to find out._

_Without answering my question, she turned back to Renesmee. "I need you to trust me, Renesmee," she whispered, putting her hands on Nessie's cheeks. _

_My fists clenched when I saw another tear run down her face. I hated to see her cry. _

_She nodded. "I trust you."_

"_Good. I need you to go home."_

_I had to repress the growl in the back of my throat when she looked up at me with scared, green eyes. "Bella—"_

"_Jake!" She finally sounded exasperated. "What good is a _secret_ plan when Edward can read her thoughts? It's better if she is completely ignorant of it."_

_I relaxed; she was absolutely right. _

_She turned back to Renesmee. "Promise me you will go home and try not to let anyone know you were gone. Most importantly, do _not_ think about this. Don't let Edward know that I'm here, okay?"_

_Renesmee nodded quickly and another tear fell down her flushed cheeks. "Okay. What does he think you're doing?"_

"_I told him I was going to call my mom. She likes to talk in the mornings for some reason and I usually talk to her alone. But you don't know that, okay?" Bella's face was stern; she was serious about this. It was one of the few times that she really looked like a mother._

"_Okay, I understand."_

_The instant Bella let go I pulled Renesmee in my arms. "Don't worry," I whispered. "I won't let anything happen. We _will _be together."_

_I felt her nod against my chest. "I love you," she whispered in her clear, sweet voice._

_Every time she said it, I swear I fell in love with her even more. "I love you."_

_It was hard to let her go, but I did. I kissed her just like I would have if Bella hadn't been standing there and then watched her walk out the door. It had been quite awhile since I had been alone with Bella and the awkward silence we shared for the next few moments proved that._

"_I really am sorry about this, Jake," she said after while. "I honestly don't understand what's going through his head right now."_

_I crossed my arms and gave into an old urge to tease her. "He isn't exactly known for rational decisions."_

_She rolled her eyes but smiled. "Trust me, I know."_

"_So what's your plan then?"_

_Her face was instantly serious again. "Do you trust me?"_

"_I think that's been established."_

"_Okay. Here's the deal; in a week we're moving to Scotland. No one is supposed to tell Renesmee as per Edward's orders. We're going to pack while she's sleeping then leave as soon as she wakes up."_

_I could feel the anger growing with every word she spoke._

"_We're flying straight to London from Seattle, then onto Glasgow and our flight leaves at 3 am. We purchased the tickets before I left. As we speak, Carlisle is buying a house and making all of the moving arrangements so we can get everything ready and on its way while she's asleep."_

_I shook my head and took long, deep breaths to stay calm._

"_If we wake her up in the middle of her REM sleep then she gets very confused and she doesn't know what's going on. Edward is hoping that will get her through security. After that he's hoping propriety will get her on the plane. He even put her in the back of the cabin so we're all in front of her if she tries to run."_

"_This is disgusting, Bella." I couldn't hold in my disgust any longer._

_She didn't hesitate to agree. "I know."_

"_So what about me?" That was, of course, the real issue._

"_His plan is to leave without a trace so you have no idea where to find us."_

_I rolled my eyes and repressed another growl. "Yeah, I got that, Bells. I mean, what is your plan to keep Nessie and me together?"_

"_It's surprisingly easy," she said with a brightness that seemed a little inappropriate. "There's flight to Glasgow via London that leaves at 11 pm the same night. You go on that flight and meet us at the gate in Scotland."_

_It did sound easy…too easy. "And how do I know that you're not really moving to Ireland?"_

_She almost looked hurt. "I guess that's fair," she whispered. "But everything I've told you is true. Jake, you're my best friend, you know that. I don't want to leave you behind either." She took a step closer to me. "I want my daughter to be happy and there is absolutely no else in this world who can make her as happy as you do. For that matter, there's no one else that would I trust with her as much as you. I'm not trying to trick you, Jake, I think you know that. I want Edward to see you standing at the gate when we get off the plane in Glasgow."_


	7. 13 Hour Flight

Jacob

I leaned my head back against the head rest and closed my eyes. According to the map on the screen in front of me, we were going to land in London in about an hour. Right on schedule. Even though I was in First Class—mainly because I couldn't possibly fit in the seats in Coach—I still felt claustrophobic and trapped. I was glad the guy in the seat next to me was asleep, otherwise my bouncing leg and tapping fingers would have driven him crazy. I probably looked like I was running from the law and I knew the flight attendants had to think so too if their curious glances were any indication. The truth was I wouldn't be able to relax until I saw Renesmee step off of the plane in Glasgow.

I inhaled deeply and tried to at least relax my body so I didn't look so suspicious. Of course, I would never actually blend in because I was a seven-foot tall Native American, but looking around anxiously and sighing definitely didn't help. My mind was still going crazy though. Nessie had no idea what the plan was; for all she knew Edward had successfully taken her in the night without me knowing and without Bella's plan going into action. And I hadn't seen her in—well, I didn't know exactly how long it had been, but it was too long. Imprinting wasn't bad except for the whole going crazy thing after a relatively short separation. Yeah, I could live without that.

In a way, I was meditating; focusing only on my images and memories of Renesmee, but it still didn't help very much. It did take my mind off of the flight though, because the next time I opened my eyes, the plane was touching down in London. I had a three hour layover, compared to their two hour layover, so I would get to Glasgow only three hours before they did as long as all of the flights were on time. Three-hour layover, two-hour flight, three-hour wait. Eight hours. I could do this.

I'd never been to London so the logical thing would have been to go see a little bit of the city and put a dent in the wad of 50 pound bank notes that Bella had insisted on giving to me. Yeah, Big Ben, the London Eye or Buckingham Palace would have been great. Instead I spent three pounds on some food, aimlessly walked around a souvenir _shoppe_ then went to the waiting area by the gate for my flight to Glasgow.

I was so agitated I was almost surprised that no one called security. It was a good thing though, because if anyone would have tried to stop me from boarding that plane, I swear I would have phased right there in the airport and torn them in half. It wasn't just because I hadn't seen Renesmee—the truth was I had gone longer without seeing her before—it was the fear that I would get to Glasgow and she wouldn't. I trusted Bella, or at least I kept reminding myself that I did, but there was still a very nerve-wracking possibility that Edward had out played us all.

The flight from London to Glasgow was a little less than two hours, but it still went on forever—or it seemed like it anyway. I only had a carry-on bag because Bella had somehow shipped my entire life to their new residence in Scotland without anyone else knowing. She was creepy good at this kind of stuff now.

I found the gate number for their flight—still listed as On Time—and asked one of the workers where it was…but I didn't understand a word she said. So I walked around and followed signs until I found it. I sat down where I could see the plane when it came in and I had no intention of moving until it did.

* * * *

Renesmee

From the moment we stepped off of the plane in London, my father never left my side. But I never said a word to him. He knew that the moment he stepped away from me I would run and find someway—anyway to get back to Washington…to Jacob. No one in my family would look me in the eye, even my mother stared in any direction but mine. That hurt the most. She had been on my side, I'd trusted her! Yet, here we were, half way around the world, and Jacob wasn't with us. Had she lied to him? To us both? I didn't want to believe it…I couldn't. It was the only hope I had of seeing Jake any time soon.

My white-knuckled fists clenched the edge of the arm rest on the chair that was connected to my father's; his hands were perfectly relaxed. With a sudden urge of vengeance, I put my hand on top of his cold one and used my ability to its fullest. I showed him my favorite memories of Jacob and memories of him and Jacob together. As much as I had wanted to keep it to myself, I even showed him the memory of the day on the beach when Jacob had explained the rules of our relationship and how he made me promise to keep them. Then I squeezed his marble hand as hard as I could and made him feel the emotions I was feeling that very moment: anger, betrayal…hatred.

He retracted his hand like I had burnt it.

Somehow I still didn't feel better.

At last, the boarding call sounded and I quickly made my way to the queue with my small carry-on bag. I probably shouldn't have been so eager to get on the plane, but I knew that once we got to Scotland he would back off and I could find someway to get to Jacob or get him to me.

It was the same seat in the back of the cabin again. I was about the fall into it when he stopped me.

"Renesmee," he whispered just loud enough for me to hear. It was the first time he had spoken to me since Forks.

I turned to him, perfectly willing to let him hear my malevolent thoughts. "I hope you're happy," I whispered, glaring directly into his golden eyes. "Because these are the very last words I will _ever_ speak to you."

I didn't really care how he reacted; I fell back into my seat and looked out the window. Again, the seat next to me remained empty. I didn't normally like to cry in front of my family because it was a little strange to be the only one crying, but this time I wanted them to see me cry. I wanted them all to regret what they had done to me. I knew we weren't a conventional family, but they were my family nonetheless and they were supposed to support me. What's more, most of them had been Jacob's friends, too. I didn't know how I could live with them after this.

I cried the entire flight.

I dried my cheeks with the back of my hand as I followed Edward—he was Edward from now on—through the Jetway into the airport. But as soon as he stepped out into the waiting area he stopped and I heard him sneer. I stepped around him and my heart practically jumped out of my chest.

There was Jacob…arms crossed, wide stance, staring Edward down from the middle of the waiting area.

I suddenly couldn't breathe.

I blinked, trying to make sure he was still there when I opened my eyes. He was.

But I still couldn't move.

I felt a cold hand touch my arm and I turned to see my mom smiling at me. "Go," she whispered.

I went. I dropped my bag halfway there and as soon as I reached him I jumped into his arms, wrapped my legs around his middle and kissed him with every ounce of passion I had in me. His arms were so tight around me that I could hardly breathe but I loved it.

"I thought—I was so afraid," I cried when we finally parted.

He smiled. "Me too, and I knew the plan." He kissed me again. "I love you so much."

I loved the look in his dark eyes when he told he loved me. Words were useless and unreliable, even though I did love to hear them spoken in his sensuous, husky voice, but it was the look in his eyes that made me shiver every time he said it.

I held his face in my hands and smiled as I let him feel all of the love I was feeling for him at that moment.

"I wish we weren't in public right now," he whispered.

I seconded that. With one last kiss, he set me back on the floor and immediately intertwined his fingers with mine.

Clearly though, this was far from over. Edward was staring us down and he hadn't moved a muscle.


	8. The Fallout

Edward

It had been sometime since I had felt such a mixture of emotions at once. I was furious, and I was certain it showed on my face, yet the most prominent emotion I felt was confusion. Utter confusion, to be precise. I had been so careful in my planning; I could hear my family's thoughts after all. They were all furious with me—especially when they had seen Renesmee weeping on the plane. They all knew I could hear them and they hadn't been shy about voicing their opinions. Still, not one of them had even hinted that they had told him where we were heading and when.

Yet, there he was, ignoring our agreement even in the public airport. It was hard to hold himself back, watching him touch her so freely. She was seven! She was innocence and goodness; a proverbial miracle. Why did I have to share everything I held dear with _him_?

I felt a hand on my arm and I immediately turned to look into the eyes of the most beloved person in my life. I missed her eyes sometimes; missed the way they had been…before. Now the golden irises looked at me almost with chastisement.

Then, with a sudden clarity, I realized.

* * * *

Renesmee

He finally moved when mom touched his arm and I truly hoped she could make it right. I could see a few people in their chairs, waiting for their flights, peeking over their newspapers at the scene we were creating. I suppose that eight ghostly pale, inhumanly beautiful people staring down and seven-foot-tall Native American was bound to cause a scene. Only, if there was one thing I had learned in my short life it was that Vampires couldn't cause scenes—especially now that the Volturi were no longer halfway around the world, but practically in our backyard.

At that point he had to know it was her; he knew what the rest of us were thinking, after all. I didn't realize I was holding my breath until he finally took a step forward and I exhaled. Jacob's hand constricted around mine and I looked up at him with what I hoped was a look of reassurance. But he would know it was a load of crap anyway. It was going to be bad, but he was here and I could make it through anything as long as he was by my side.

Everything was done in an eerie, tense silence. Hand in hand, Jacob and I followed my parents to the baggage claim, everyone giving Edward—yes, until he apologized he was still Edward—a wide berth as we stood waiting. Emmett collected all of the bags and carried most of them out to the waiting rental cars with Jasper's help.

Jacob and I went with Jasper and Alice, and Emmett and Rosalie drove Carlisle and Esmé. I almost asked my mother to come with us but I knew there wouldn't be enough room. And deep down I knew she would go with Edward anyway. No matter how angry they were at each other, they were still deeply in love. I couldn't help but admire that. I only wished that he could understand that I felt the same way about Jacob.

As soon as we pulled away from the curb, Alice turned in her seat and smiled at us. Even with the smile I was pretty sure that there would have been tears in her eyes if she could cry. "For once, I'm very glad I didn't see this coming."

I admit, I was still a little mad her for listening to Edward, but I was too surprised by what she said to ignore it. "You didn't?"

She shook her pixie-like head. "Not a peep. You two are usually shady anyway, but normally I can see Bella clearly." She winked. "Someone is rooting for you two."

I smiled as Jacob's arm slid around my shoulders.

"I'm sorry, by the way," she whispered soberly, looking back and forth between us. "I promise I was going to help once we got here, but if I planned something, Edward would just hear it and change his plan."

I smiled at her. It was hard for me to stay mad at Alice anyway. In fact, I knew that the rest of my family probably felt the same way, but since Edward would have heard their plans it would have been futile. It had been hard enough for me not to think about mom coming to Jacob's house.

During the two hour drive north to our new home the four of us nearly forgot what was bound to happen when we arrived. Jacob told us about the plan and how he had he broken the news to Billy and Seth and the rest of his pack. Apparently Seth had made him promise to phase at a certain time to see just how far their telepathic connection would reach. There was a smile on his face, as there was most of the time when we were together, but I knew he was sad to leave them. I was sad to leave them, too; they were an extension of my already unique family and I hadn't even gotten to tell them goodbye.

The inevitable did come though. We all pulled into our new driveway within five minutes of each other, my parents bringing up the rear. There was the same eerie silence when they got out of the car and they didn't look very happy. I could only imagine what had transpired in the two hours…probably an angry, tense silence and that was unheard of for my parents.

The house was beautiful; old grey stone with gables and ivy crawling up the sides, but I barely noticed as we all filed inside. It had been completely furnished—Carlisle had quick moves down to an easy science—so it was completely ready to inhabit.

"There are four suites in the house and two cottages on the grounds," Carlisle explained. "I assumed Bella and Edward could have one and Jacob could have the other."

When his words sunk up I immediately turned to watch Edward's reaction. I knew this was it.

He looked around our entire family. "So none of you were planning to do as I asked?" he asked with feigned calm. "You were all going to get him here?" He looked at Carlisle. "You planned for him to live here all along?"

"Yes," Carlisle said firmly. "That has been the agreement all along, Edward."

He rolled his eyes. "He broke the agreement."

"No, I didn't!" Jacob exclaimed, breaking the tense calm in which my family normally argued. "I didn't rob her of her virtue or whatever you think I did!"

True anger finally burned in Edward's eyes and his lip curled up in an intimidating sneer. "I saw you!" he roared.

"We were just kissing!"

He stepped closer. "I heard what you were thinking!"

It always went back to this. "I was thinking it too!" I reminded him for Jacob's side. "We're human and we love each other; we think about it!"

"So separating you—"

"No!" Jacob yelled. "I watched you do this to Bella and I refuse to let you do it Renesmee. You'll do whatever _you_ think is best and you don't care who you hurt in the process! You don't always know what's best!"

Edward's sneer turned into a queer smile. "Maybe not, but in this case—"

"If you're so right, why don't any of us would agree with you?"

Silence fell over the scene as we all turned to look at Rosalie. It was well known that she wasn't Jacob's biggest fan, but she was like a second mother to me and, above all things, she wanted my happiness.

"Edward, you have no right to act like this," she continued. "You could have killed Bella any number of times and exposed all of us, but you two were in love so you took the chance. Jacob is no threat to Renesmee or her virtue. You're anger is unfounded and hypocritical."

I seriously wanted to throw my arms around her and kiss her cold cheek, but I stayed next to Jacob and squeezed his hand. Hopefully he would feel better knowing that even Rosalie was on his side.

Edward on the other hand clearly felt worse—only, it wasn't fury or anger even. After a few bewildered seconds of staring at his _sister, _his eyes softened and he began looking at all of us, one by one. Then, without warning, he turned on his heels, walked out the door and slammed it shut with an unsettling finality.


	9. Remorse

**A/N: Sorry it's been so long! I had three tests and a project due in one week! Ahhh, college life. Anyway, better late than ever, so here it is!**

**Renesmee**

I was drifting off to sleep on the couch and he still hadn't returned. My head was in Jacob's lap and he continually ran his fingers through my hair or leaned over and kissed my cheek. I was happy, like I always was with Jacob, but I was worried too. My mother had gone after dad—okay, yes, he hadn't apologized, but I was pretty sure I had seen remorse in his eyes when he had looked at me, so he was dad again—and she had yet to return. Everyone else was worried, too. They never said anything, but I could tell.

I had long perfected my breathing so it seemed like I was asleep and it worked just as it had every other time. I had been breathing evenly for about ten minutes when it happened.

"Rosalie," Jacob whispered.

"Yes?"

A pause. "Thanks."

"I don't understand it," she whispered. "But you make her happy. Remember though, if you ever hurt her, I will bite you and it will kill you."

"If I ever hurt her," he returned seriously. "I wouldn't blame you."

I could tell when Rosalie left the room because I felt a kiss on my temple. It was hard not to smile. I decide to actually go to sleep after that. After all, it had been one hell of a day.

The first thing I noticed when I opened my eyes again were the shadows that slanted across the freshly waxed hard wood floor. I blinked a few times and smiled at my content state before I realized what was causing the shadows. My entire family—save my parents—was standing in front of the huge bay window at the front of the room.

I pushed myself up into a sitting position and raised an eyebrow at the strange sight. Jacob was still fast asleep, his head tilted at an awkward angle that would have probably made a normal human very sore, but I knew he would be fine so I focused on the fact that he somehow looked really cute. I nudged him, taking no care to be gentle, and his eyes immediately opened. A second later he was smiling at me and pulling me into his arms.

"What's going on?" he whispered.

Everyone turned at once; apparently they hadn't heard us stirring. They must have been really focused on something. Yet, no one answered the question.

"What is—?"

Before I could even finish my question the front door swung open and my parents slowly entered the house. The air in the huge—and no doubt old room virtually crackled with tension as my mother closed the door quietly and my father stood with his head down, refusing to meet anyone's gaze.

It was probably only a few seconds in reality, but it felt like an hour…a seven-year-old's hour at that. But eventually, after a nudge from my mom, he looked up at me. I had never seen that look in my father's eyes, at least not since I had been a baby in danger from the Volturi, but I had seen it in my mom's eyes every time she had left me over the year's. If his body would have allowed him, he would have been crying.

I think he waited for me to recognize that before he actually spoke. "I'm sorry," he whispered contritely. "I'm so sorry."

The next second, I threw my arms around him, tears streaming down my face. For once, I didn't care that I was the only who could cry, I was just glad to have my dad back.

I could feel Jacob standing behind me when my dad finally let me go. For a few moments I was afraid that his remorse didn't quite cover Jake. But the pause only lasted an instant and I before knew it—or quite believed my eyes, my dad actually pulled Jacob into an embrace and whispered the same contrite words to him.

Jaws dropped…including mine. I hadn't even wished for so much.

He soon turned to the rest of our family. They were all still standing by the window, staring at him.

"I'm sorry I ever told you to do this. You were very right not to listen."

"Damn straight," Emmett said as he cracked a smile.

I was happy, really happy, that he had apparently seen the error of his ways and he had apologized, but I still wanted to know why he had done it in the first place. "But why did you do it, Dad?" I asked softly. "Do you really not trust us? So much so that you would separate us like this?"

He hung his head again. "I guess I'm not as ready to let you go as I thought I would be."

"But I'm not going anywhere," I promised fervently. "In fact, the only thing that would change if we got married today would be that I would live in the cottage with him instead of in the house."

He nodded and inhaled deeply, even though I knew he didn't need it. "I know, so that's why I've decided to change the terms of the agreement."

Change the agreement? My heart speed up, hoping that he meant what I thought he did.

Jacob's arm went around my waist and he pulled me against his side. "Change what?" he asked slowly…hopefully. I knew he had to be thinking the same thing I was.

"I've decided that you no longer have to wait a year before you get married."

My smile was slow to form as I let the words sink in; we didn't have to wait anymore.

"I'm going to worry less," he continued, "If you're married. Since you're not living with us anyway, making you wait no longer makes sense."

Over his shoulder I could see my mother grin from ear to ear; something about the look made me wonder if he had let her in on that little part.

My Aunt Alice on the other hand was slowly shaking her head back and forth in amazement. "I think I'm losing it," she whispered. "I did not see this coming either!" Then she suddenly shrugged and smiled. "Oh well, we have a wedding to plan!"

Yes, I thought, yes, we do.

And plan we did. The date was set—two months away—and Alice and Rosalie immediately set to work with the invitations, decorations, dress, and catering. That was all in the first week. Apparently they'd both had several weddings so they were quite efficient in their planning. I shamefully let them do it; my mom had advised me that resistance was futile. The only aspect I had a say in was my dress, and even then I only a veto power with the styles they had chosen…or already had. After ten dresses I had been very clear that I wanted a dress that was purely mine and they acquiesced.

Jacob was a good sport about it, as usual. He spent a lot of time setting up his shop in the cottage and filling orders that had stacked up on his website during the move. He also set out to find a good source of wood for his "genuine Native American sculptures" and he hoped that no one would notice that said Native _American _sculptures were now being shipped from Scotland.

The announcement that we could get married earlier had been quickly followed by another amendment to the agreement; I wasn't allowed to be alone at the cottage with Jacob until we got married. So all the time we spent together was under the watchful eyes of my ever conscious family. It annoyed me—really annoyed me—at first, but as long I remembered that "married" was less than two months away, I could deal with it.


	10. The Future starts here

**Jacob**

It was…well, it was retarded, but I was nervous. Screw that, I was insanely nervous. And the stupid monkey suit didn't help. My entire family/tribe was in Scotland, mulling around the Cullen's new estate and waiting for sundown…aka my wedding. I wasn't too sure why I was nervous because I was ecstatic that this day was happening a lot sooner than I had originally thought and I was more than ecstatic about what was going to happen after. Yet, I was.

I guess it was still there—that stupid complication that I could never seem to forget; she had a choice and I didn't. A fraction of me was afraid she would change her mind. She was just as happy as I was and I knew that and yet it still creeped into the back of my mind at the worst times. Like now, for instance, when I was in a ridiculous tux, waiting in my own small hell. The small hell was mainly because I hadn't seen Nessie in about fifteen hours. Apparently I was the only one who had felt we should screw tradition and let the bride and groom be together on the wedding day…yeah, that conversation hadn't gone over so well.

"Dude, you look like you're about to blow chunks," Seth laughed.

Yeah, 'cause it was hilarious. "What are you, fifteen?"

He slapped me on the back. "Aww, come on, man. You have no reason to be nervous. Nessie is never going to change her mind."

I knew he was trying to be a good friend, but the fact that he even knew what was bothering me was a little annoying. You'd think after so many years I would have gotten used to it.

"Now you sound like Nessie," I mumbled.

He grinned. "Smart girl, maybe you should _listen to her_," he stressed and crossed his arms.

I just rolled my eyes. Seth had yet to imprint and I was pretty sure he didn't date much either. He had no freaking idea what was going through my head…and I couldn't exactly phase and give him a taste. Stupid monkey suit.

"How is Nessie?" I asked quietly. I was going crazy without her.

Seth fell back onto the chair and shook his head. "She is fine…the rest of the family, however, is another story."

Nessie

"Where's Jasper?" Alice sighed and flitted out of the room.

"Bella, I'll do it, just hold this," Rosalie whispered quickly.

"Where is Jasper?" my mother whispered.

I wasn't nervous. In fact, I was excited and happy beyond belief. I was finally getting married! I had been waiting for this day for a long time and it was finally happening. I was on top of the world. My family was going crazy though.

Okay, so I was going a little crazy too, but a very different kind of crazy. "I'm sure Jasper is with Dad, where I'm sure he is badly needed. We don't need him here, I'm fine," I said calmly.

"I'm not," mother said quickly. Then she laughed. "I'm kidding, but you seemed antsy."

I smiled. Of course I was antsy, I wanted to start the wedding now! I wanted to go on my honeymoon and start my life with Jacob. I wasn't nervous, I just couldn't wait…maybe I did need Jasper.

My hair was curled and piled on top of head and I was tied into a beautiful, white dress that Alice and Rosalie had scoured the entire country to find. It had been worth to, or so they said. I did love it too. It tied all the way up the back and fell off of my shoulders. I smiled at my reflection and took a deep breath.

"Reneesme,"

I turned to my father and he smiled down at me. "Hi, Dad."

"You look beautiful," he whispered. "Are you ready?"

I nodded. I had been ready for so long…it hardly seemed real. "I love you, Dad."

He smiled. "I love you too, my darling little girl." He kissed my cheek and held out his arm. "Shall we?"

Oh yes we shall. I took his arm and sighed. My heart was beating so hard that I swore it was going to leap out of my chest. I heard the bagpipes begin and the doors swung open. I squeezed my Dad's arm when he didn't start moving.

"Are you absolutely sure?"

I knew he didn't really mean it, after all, he knew exactly what I was thinking. I was surer about this than I had been about anything in my life. I looked up at him and smiled and demanded that he move in my mind. Sometimes his mind reading thing was kind of useful.

We finally cleared the door.

I'll never forget the moment I set eyes on Jacob. Instead of going crazy, my heart suddenly calmed and I could breathe again. He was there, staring at me with this amazing expression on his face and it was all I could do to stop from sprinting down the aisle. Hearing my thoughts as always, my dad took a tighter grip on my hand. But the smile on his face told me that he knew exactly how I felt.

I barely noticed the beautiful scene that my family had created just for us. There was a giant arch that appeared to be made from tree branches with flowering vines weaved through all of the gaps. There were also three pedestals on either side of the arch that had arrangements that were spilling over the sides. It was amazing, even if I wasn't really paying that much attention to them.

We inched closer and Jacobs smile widened, just like mine did. I could feel the magnetic pull between us even more than usual; it got stronger with every step. And it seemed like an eternity before we actually reached the minister but then dad was lifting my delicate veil and kissing my forehead. Then, finally, Jacob reached out and took my hand.

I didn't pay attention to very much after that. I heard enough to speak when I was supposed to and other than that I only paid attention when Jacob spoke. I heard every word that came out of his beautiful mouth. I heard the minister say the words I had been waiting to hear…

"I now pronounce you man and wife, you may kiss the bride."

My face wasn't big enough for my smile. Jacob's arm slid around my waist and he pulled me flush against him. It was heaven when his head dipped to mine and we kissed for the first time as husband and wife.

Alice and Jasper twirled around Rosalie and Emmet on the dance floor. It was clear that Emmet wanted to kick things up a notch, but Aunt Rosalie didn't appear to be in such a jovial mood. I think she was more upset that my parents were…but then, she wasn't exactly Jacob's biggest fan. I knew that she was happy for me nonetheless though; she knew I was happy and deep down, that's all she wanted. Even if it was with my werewolf.

My eyelids fell over my eyes as my head rested on Jacob's warm shoulder. It was the third hour of our reception and I was tired and antsy at the same time. It was a strange combination to say the least. Jacob squeezed my shoulder and I covered his hand with mine.

His kissed the top of my head. "I know, I know."

I looked up at him in confusion. "What?"

My favorite grin came to his lips. "You want to leave."

I swear I blushed. "I would like to, yes."

His body shifted a little and the next time I opened my eyes, my mom was standing in front of me with a knowing smile. "Let's get you out of that dress."

I followed her into the house and changed out of my dress. It was beautiful, but I wouldn't describe it as comfortable. Needless to say, I was glad to be out of it. "That's much better," I mumbled sleepily when the dress fell to the floor.

"Are you ready?" my mother asked as she handed me my jeans and sweater.

"Yes, my bags over there." I yawned and pointed.

She smiled. "That's not what I was talking about."

I was suddenly awake when I realized what she was talking about. "Oh, yeah, mom, I'm ready. Don't worry."

She nodded. She didn't really seem convinced and I couldn't blame her, but she let it go. It wasn't really a fair question though because who is ever actually ready for their first time? Even if it is with your husband. But I suppose I was as ready as I could be.

"I'll put your bag in the car. You should get back to the reception."

"Ok." I took a deep breath and suddenly gave into the impulse to hug her. "Thanks, mom."

Jacob

I was almost getting the antsy by the time Nessie stepped out of the house again. She was beautiful. Well, I mean, she was always beautiful but, I don't know, today she looked…celestial, if that was even the right word.

"Hi," she sighed and gave me a lame smile. She was very obviously exhausted. It was adorable, even if it meant there would be a whole lot of sleeping tonight and not much else. I could wait.

"Hey, sleepy."

She pouted and plopped down on my lap. "Are you ready to leave? Because sleep is eminent and if we don't leave, sleep is going to happen here." She yawned slowly and made a little sighing sound.

I had to smile. I got the feeling that her statement had been some kind of threat but it was too small-kitten to be taken seriously. "Do you have your bag?"

She nodded. "Inside the door."

I kissed her cheek and playfully patted her behind so she would stand up. "Let's get it and then we'll be off. Our destinations pretty close."

Her head tilted in drowsy confusion. "Close?"

I laughed. I couldn't help it. "Yeah, come on."


	11. Honeymoon phase

** Sorry for the IMMENSE delay...life got crazy. Enjoy :) **

**Jacob**

"Do you wanna sleep for an hour before we go?" I asked when she yawned again on our way to the house. I wanted her to actually be awake for the rest of the evening I had planned…because it didn't actually include sleep.

She looked up with an apologetic smile. "Do you mind?"

I was actually a little tired too. Weddings apparently take a lot out of you…especially when it's yours. "Not at all. I'll sleep too."

Bella appeared from the doorway and gave me a hug and kissed Nessie's cheek. "Are you leaving?" she asked, eyeing her yawning daughter.

"Nah, it's nap time," I joked and slid my arm around my wife. Then I smiled for no apparent reason…_my wife_.

A mischievous grin quickly appeared on Bella's face. "Well, she is only seven. Seven year olds do still need a nap sometimes."

Ouch. "Thanks for that, Bella."

"No," Nessie chimed in amidst another yawn. "It's because I'm actually part human. I need sleep every so often."

"Sure, sure." I steered her away from her chuckling mother, only to almost run into Edward. I chose not to think about what they were doing in the house together alone…eww. I was starting to warm up to Edward again though since he'd finally come around and allowed us to get married so soon. But it still startled me at times to be so close to him and I had to fight the urge to let go of Nessie in his presence.

"Leaving?"

I felt Nessie shake her head. "Nap."

He smiled at her. It was kind of hard not to.

"We'll leave in an hour or two," I explained, maybe a little too matter of fact, "when she's fully rested."

Edward nodded. "Probably best."

In order to be the best son-in-law I could be…and it was still odd to think of Edward and Bella as my "in-laws", I had told them my post wedding plans. Well, I'd told them the location anyway. "I'll let you know when we set out."

I took Nessie up to the room that would no longer be hers after tonight. We would move her to my cabin in the forest behind the house when we returned…in a few weeks. She climbed up onto her 18th century, four poster and fell face first onto the midnight blue pillows.

I crawled up next to her and pulled her into my arms. "Wake me up when you're ready, 'kay?"

.-.-.-.-.

**Nessie**

My eyes fluttered open at 2 am. I could still hear music coming from the backyard and I couldn't help but smile. My family didn't get a lot of actual occasions and this was probably the last one they were going to have for a very long time. It wouldn't surprise me if they kept the party going until the sun came up…and maybe even a little longer.

Jacob's arm was still firmly around my middle and I could hear him breathing steadily. I loved waking up like this…and I got to do it for the rest of my life. That was a nice thought. I smiled and sighed then attempted to pry myself loose. After all, it was our wedding night and we were supposed to be on our way as soon as I was actually awake. And boy did I feel awake.

I successfully left his grasp and popped up on to my knees. "Jake," I whispered even though I knew very well that it would take a lot more to actually wake him up. "Jacob," I said a little louder in a sing-songy voice.

He started to stir and I could see his eyes moving under his eyelids. And he let out a cute little moan.

"Good morning," I whispered and then tackled him into the mattress.

"Good morning!" he laughed and his arms automatically pulled me to him for a slow, sensual kiss. "Are you ready to leave?"

He wagged his eyebrows and grinned and my stomach flopped like it had when he'd kissed me for the first time. I was more than ready. I kissed him again then hopped off of the bed. "Very ready."

Only, very ready was a lie. Not so much as lie as a slightly less true version of the truth. I was ready to leave and in theory I had been ready for this for a while…but in the very close reality of it….well, I might not be as ready as I had thought. I knew what was going to go down (and that was before the really awkward talk my mother tried to have with me a few days ago that I quickly nipped in the bud and thankfully avoided the logical next conversation of how I didn't need to have said conversation.) Jake knew this too, since I had been sending him my unclean thoughts for a while now when things got a little heated between us. But those were thoughts.

It was about to be real.

"How do you want to go?" Jake asked as he followed me off the bed.

I squinted my eyes at him, so lost in my thoughts that I didn't understand the question. "There are options?"

He grinned at me and took my hand. The backpack I had packed two days ago while my aunts snickered at me was already on his back. "We can go side by side or you can go on my back. Your choice."

I was pretty sure if I walked next to him, hand in hand, to wherever it was we were going that I would just blush the entire time. And it had been a long time since I'd had a ride on his back and it was my favorite way to travel. Always had been. I had never felt closer to him than when I was on his back. Of course, that was probably going to change once we reached our destination.

"On your back, please," I answered with a grin. This would also— hopefully— lead to the fruition of a fantasy I had had since my feelings for him had changed. A fantasy that he was very well aware of.

And the grin he gave me in reply told me that he knew exactly what I wanted. "I had a feeling you'd say that."

He helped me put the backpack on and fastened it around my chest. Instead of letting go, he used the strap to pull me against him and he kissed me sweetly. "Let's go."

He took several steps back, peeled off his shirt, grinned at me then morphed into the beautiful, oversized wolf that he was. I just stared at him for a few seconds before I actually moved to get on his back. He yelped happily and took off into the dense forest that surrounded our home.

I relished the wind in my hair as he ran through the trees at a speed that probably would have terrified a human—or so I'm told. I haven't actually met that many humans, let alone one who has ridden on the back of a werewolf. But I loved every second of it. One of the reasons I liked driving fast was because I had grown up on the backs of vampires and werewolves who moved that quickly on foot.

I was only on his back for twenty minutes when I finally saw something in the distance. The trees seemed to be glowing up ahead as we rushed toward them. I smiled against the wind as we got closer and I could just make out a huge four poster bed in the center of a clearing. The closer we got the more I saw and the wider I smiled. I loved him so much and I would have loved him if we had stayed in the cabin we would live in from now on, but my heart was about to break out of my chest at this. There were lighted lanterns hung in all of the trees surrounding the bed and multiple strings of ivy and flowers were hung from the branches, connecting the trees. It was breathtaking.

He slowed to a stop and I slid off of his back, running my fingers through his soft fur as I walked around to see his eyes. I felt a shudder run through his body and he whimpered just as I came around to his front. I knew I was torturing him because I knew the thoughts and feelings I was conveying to him and I could see the pleading in the golden brown depths of his eyes. I grinned at him and turned and hopped up onto the gorgeous, wonderfully soft, king-sized bed.

And then it finally happened, the one thing that I had wanted to see even longer than I had wanted this day. Right before my eyes, my very own werewolf turned back into my very own husband. And it was even more breathtaking than the scene he had created for me. Because when he was done, he was standing in front of me in only his suntanned, perfectly caramel skin and absolutely nothing else. Goodness, he was beautiful.

His signature grin, the one I couldn't seem to get enough of lately, spread across his lips and I could suddenly feel the short distance between us much more keenly than usual. I smiled back and beckoned him with one finger. He sauntered toward me until he was standing between my knees in all his glory.

"Your turn," he whispered and pulled my shirt over my head. For all of my worries, the last thing I felt right now was nervous, even though this was the first time he had ever seen me like this. He grinned down at my blood red, lacy bra before he dipped his head and brushed his lips against mine oh-so-softly and far too briefly.

His hands slid down my arms with a feather light touch that made me shiver in the best way possible and he took my hands and placed them on his searing skin. I felt a little silly when I realized I could have done that myself. I was too mesmerized by him to actually touch him. That was never going to happen again…

A peak of the anticipated nervousness came when he reached for the button on my jeans. And apparently it went through my skin to him because his hands immediately stilled. Even though I was nervous, I didn't actually want him to stop.

"Don't be nervous, baby. It can only get better, remember?"

I nodded. "I'm going to be nervous, at least a little bit. But I don't want you to stop. That's the only way I won't be nervous anymore."

"Sure, sure," he mumbled. "Do me a favor and let me feel everything you're feeling. Don't hold anything back, okay?"

I smiled at him and pulled him closer to me. "Sure, sure. I'll let you feel everything if you kiss me right now."

He grinned. "You, darlin', drive a very hard bargain." He kissed me forcefully, just the way I liked it at times like these. I tried my hardest to squelch any lingering nerves when he unbuttoned my jeans, slid them over my legs and tossed them to the side. He broke our kiss then to look me over with approving eyes. "Damn, I'm lucky."

An ornery streak ran through me and I couldn't help but tease him a little. "That you imprinted on a fine piece of half vampire ass? Yes, you are."

His laughter rang out through the trees. "I love you,"

I cocked a challenging eyebrow at him and fell back onto my elbows. "Show me."

He took the challenge. He was on top of me in an instant, snaking his arm around me and carrying me to the center of the bed, like only a werewolf with inhuman strength and balance could do. His lips ravished—yes, ravished mine and his hands moved over every inch of my body that he had never been allowed to touch before. I was so lost in him that I forgot to be nervous when he unhooked my bra and ran his hand over the soft, untouched skin. I think I moaned into his mouth or maybe I just conveyed to him what I wanted because he kissed down my neck and…yeah, he knew what I wanted.

He suddenly laughed against my skin. "This is really convenient."

"What?"

"This whole you can tell me exactly what you want without actually telling me thing," he explained. "It's good."

I sent a new thought to him and the next instant he was pressing his lips to mine and laughing against them. His hand trailed down my side and down the back of my thigh, taking my red, lacy boy shorts with it. I grinned at him the entire time, even though I knew he could feel that I wasn't nervous, I wanted it to show on my face. I couldn't even remember what nervous felt like at this point. My mind was filled with the love and laughter in his eyes and the feel of his large, warm hands on my skin and nothing else. This beautifully decorated clearing with my wonderfully steamy werewolf husband was my own personal heaven.


End file.
